Future Plans and a Misnamed Word Document

ngThere are two things that must be said here. The first is that I’m never satisfied with my writing, even when I really think I am. This sounds great. It sounds like I’ll go over a piece of writing again and again until its groomed exactly as I want it. While that may be accurate, getting to the writing part does not always happen. The second is that I have more Kraig Monroe stories coming!

(the cover for Episode Five is still being worked on, but I promise I have one)

Have you looked at the preview I have from Episode One Kraig With a K? You should. It’s a popular series (popular with the handful of people who’ve read the stories). It has great reviews on Amazon (from the handful of people who’ve read the stories). There are currently three episodes available on the Kindle store. I have two more almost ready for publication. Also, this summer I will release a collection of all five episodes. This will be available as an eBook and as a physical copy.

I will post a short sneak preview of one of these new episodes once their release date has been set.

A few months back I posted that I would finally be publishing the first novel in a series. That has changed. I decided (again) the novel was way too similar to the events surrounding the last election, even though I wrote the story out before the election happened. And yes, some of the events of the story are still seemingly “coming true” in some ways. After posting a little about this upcoming story, I decided to scrub it because it was too similar to what happened. I didn’t want people to think I just watched the news and tweaked it a little. I want to be more original.

Lost and upset, I did what any good writer would do: neglect my homework and open a fresh Word document. After typing out something I figured would be a future blog post, I stopped and realized that I was creating the basis for one of the story arcs in the novel I had just scrubbed. This arc was kind of odd and out of place in the novel, but I felt it needed to be included. It told a close-up, personal side of the story. I continued typing and adding to it and critiquing the document, which went untitled for weeks. It was save it as the first sentence; That Cocky Smile.

Now, at the end of the semester, I have this kind of sizable, misnamed word document that is too short to be a stand alone story, but way too long to be a post or a series of posts. However, I know, somehow that people will connect with this story.

And So We Simply Survive is a passion project that I’ve put my heart into…in all four versions of the story. I’ve written this tale out at least four times, and each iteration is very different. It has gone from a political thriller about a dictator, to an action packed thriller about an international conspiracy, to this toned down drama about a few characters living their lives. Boring? Hopefully not. In any version of this tale, there has been one common theme: our actions are all premeditated and determined by some entity. This entity was usually an Orwellian government, overly powerful corporations or some combination. In the current version, the controlling force is a little different, although in the end, mega-corporations are still the bad guy.

This quote is from one of the big, sudden realization moments a character undergoes.

“What option is there for me to investigate, but bow down to him? His atrocious smile is thoroughly hateful, but I ought to do as a good employee must; sweep the floors and stock the shelves. I’ll slip by today, and labor away. In a world of neglect, pain and violence, what choice do I have but to keep my head down, align myself with the rules and press onward? None. I have a single choice that is viable, so long as I want to eat and sleep in a warm bed. And so, I’ll simply survive.”

I will share some of it on here, and continue to quote it on my Facebook page. Hopefully people (yes, I mean you! The three of you that actively follow my writing) will get excited and beg me for more.

Published by Patrick

Sometimes, I’m an indie author with a passion for crafting stories. Other times, I am a Grad student working on a professional degree. In the moments when I am writing or studying, I am a fortunate husband with a loving wife. Most importantly, she puts up with my constant writing pursuits and need to talk about philosophy.
I absolutely love writing about social issues and controversial topics. I believe that people should discuss the subjects they’re afraid of and that challenge them. I think that if we all talked about the taboo things in life, we could root out all the evil and vicious themes from the darker corners of life.
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